MLB Player News

Zagurski signed a minor-league contract with the Tigers on Sunday, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports.

Following a two-year stint in Japan, Zagurski, 34, will head back to the States with the hope of making it back to the majors. Zagurski, who last appeared in the big leagues in 2013, has made 89 career MLB appearances, splitting time between the Phillies, Diamondbacks, Yankees and Pirates. He'll face long odds of breaking camp with the Tigers and may need to pitch well at the Triple-A level before he has a realistic chance of hitting the majors.

Kahnle enters spring training as one of several relievers looking to grab a spot in middle relief for the White Sox. In 29 games last season, the right-hander had a 2.63 ERA in 27.1 innings over 29 appearances.

Kahnle was one of several young relief pitchers to get a look in 2016 thanks to injuries to Zach Putnam and Jake Petricka. While the ERA suggests Kahnle had a successful season, his 4.46 FIP indicates something else entirely. He was able to dodge the potential danger of having walked 6.6 batters per nine innings. Even during his most dominant stretch of the season -- he allowed just one run and seven hits over the final 17.2 innings of the season -- Kahnle walked 10 with an unsustainable .175 BABIP. It all suggests he was a bit lucky and is not going to be put in high-leverage situations anytime soon.

Beck will be one of several relievers looking to fill out the White Sox bullpen in 2017.

Beck, a minor league starter who began to transition to the bullpen in 2016, had a couple of stints in Chicago's bullpen last season, but was barely perceptible on fantasy radars. Lefty batters raked against him (1.115 OPS) and his control was putrid (6.0 BB/9). The team is pretty much set in the rotation and has several recent draftees and prospects that have moved ahead of Beck in terms of starting depth. If he's to head north with the White Sox in April, it will be as a reliever.

Fulmer credits his strong three-start finish at Triple-A Charlotte to the Knights pitching coach Richard Dotson.

Fulmer was a disaster out of the White Sox bullpen in 2016, giving up 12 hits, seven hits and 11 runs in 11.2 innings. Maybe the White Sox rushed their 2015 first-round pick; or maybe he was out of his element as a reliever; or maybe he tried too hard to justify being such a high draft pick. When he went back down to Charlotte, Dotson instructed the 6-foot right-hander to stay tall and create as much angle as possible. Once Fulmer stood tall, he yielded one run on nine hits in 15 innings while fanning 14 over his final three starts. The confident 22-year-old is expected to start the season at Charlotte, but he and Lucas Giolito figure to enter Chicago's rotation at some point this season, joining fellow young hurler Carlos Rodon.

Belisle signed a one-year contract with the Twins on Thursday, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports.

During his age-36 season with the Nationals, Belisle put together what may have been one of the best seasons of his career. Over 40 games (46 innings) he compiled a 1.76 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. However, while these marks are fantastic, his fantasy appeal is rather limited. He owned a K-rate of just 17.2 percent in 2016 and didn't see many high-leverage situations, as he picked up just four holds all season.

Harvey won't pitch at all until the instructional league begins in September, Keith Law of ESPN reports.

The injury-prone right-hander will miss most of 2017 after having Tommy John last year. He sat out all of the 2015 season with two different injuries -- a fractured fibula thanks to a comeback shot in spring training, followed by a flexor mass strain later in the year. The Orioles' No 7 prospect came back briefly in 2016 before finally having surgery. Harvey has front-line stuff when healthy, but even in dynasty formats, the 22-year-old is a reach until he proves he can stay out of the trainer's room.

Lee is on track to make his major league debut in 2017, Joe Wedra of SB Nation reports.

Lee is on the team's 40-man roster and will undoubtedly be under the spotlight this spring. The Orioles' No. 12 prospect suffered a season-ending lat injury after limiting opposing hitters to a measly .222 average over 51.1 innings (eight starts) at Double-A Bowie in 2016. Lee, a 24-year-old lefty, received a ringing endorsement from manager Buck Showalter at minicamp in early January. "If he's healthy, he's a guy who will get on the radar screen in a hurry," Showalter said. "In fact, he's a guy that when we [thought about] last year, he has the type of fastball, he can pitch with his fastball. He's got that type of movement." If Lee can prove he's healthy this spring, he'd make for a solid selection in dynasty formats.

VerHagen (shoulder) recently threw a pair of bullpen sessions and didn't report any soreness, Anthony French of the Detroit Free Press reports.

This is a big step forward for VerHagen, who threw off a mound for the first time since undergoing thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last July. VerHagen struggled before the surgery last season, but he posted a 2.05 ERA across 26.1 MLB innings in 2015 and could be a useful member of the Detroit bullpen if his rehab continues to go well.

McHugh's arbitration hearing is scheduled for Feb. 10.

McHugh's numbers took a dip in 2016 relative to the season before, which could favor the team's offer ($3.35 million) over the pitcher's ($3.85 million) at the hearing. Working for McHugh is that he tied for the team lead in quality starts (16), won six straight decisions to end the season and increased his strikeout rate. The 29-year-old right hander is expected to open the season in Houston's rotation.

Wilson is looking to mix in more pitches and vary his speeds more in spring training, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Last season, Wilson threw a fastball or cutter about 78 percent of the time, and those pitches sat around 95 mph and 91 mph, respectively. Wilson said his goal in spring training is to vary his speeds a bit more by mixing in a slider and a changeup more often. "I'm going in there, and my whole goal is to be a junk pitcher to really get confident in [those offspeed pitches] and use them," he said.